NOTES FROM PUBLIC MEETING #3 AUGUST 30, 2017

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1 NOTES FROM PUBLIC MEETING #3 AUGUST 30, MEETING SUMMARY & MAIN POINTS The community meeting consisted of one overview presentation and two small group discussions of preferred approaches to Hale Parkway and Severn Place drainage and water quality. There were approximately 50 attendees from the community. Team presented draft Community Goals derived from input from public meeting #2: Team described the range of approaches to address flooding and water quality for Hale Parkway and Severn & Jersey. General approaches include an all pipe solution, an all greenway solution and hybrid of pipe and greenway solution. During the small breakout group discussions project staff listened, noted, discussed and answered community questions about stormwater systems in the area, green infrastructure, water quality, future development concerns, traffic, Lindsley Park, connectivity, preservation of parkway essence and trees. After small group discussion, attendees filled out comment cards providing specific input on draft goals and preferred approach for Hale Parkway (All Pipe, All Greenway & Hybrid) and explained the reasons for their selection Out of 28 comment cards collected, the following are the results: Page 1 of 10

2 o All Pipe Approach (5 respondents, 19% of total) o All Greenway Approach (2 respondents, 7%) o Hybrid Approach (20 respondents, 74%) 2. Community Responses to Comment Sheets Question 1 Please provide your input on the Draft Goals. Did we miss something? Is there a goal that should not be included? Draft goals look great Goals are all good. But obviously you are moving away from the line that we have heard: we re building the backbone and then will get down to Significant Flooding Locations (SFLs) in Mayfair/Montclair. Response Note: All areas are still being looked at in this study, although this meeting deals particularly with Hale Parkway and Severn area. This is a localized fix, you should stop combining it with OSP and 100-year protection. Response Note: this outreach is part of the Outfall Systems Plan (OSP) for the drainage basin and must address flooding for the major storm event as well as smaller events and water quality. You are mixing models and goals and the result is now not clear what you are doing with Jackson Street project. Note: Implementation phasing which is a part of every OSP will evaluate what can be done in the nearer term that will be consistent with existing constraints and the long term major storm needs and goals. Goal: Alleviate Flooding o Good; it will only get worse o Most Important o Of course Goal: Improve Water Quality o Maximize greenway o Not if it all falls behind to provide improvements Goal: Seek Solutions with Multiple Community Benefits Goal o More important o Yes Goal: Improve & Preserve Neighborhood Green Space o Maximize greenspace with all greenway o Important o Yes o More important o Yes Goal: Preserve Lindsley Park & its Recreational Uses o Put greenway on the north side to connect to park o Highlighted as number 1 Page 2 of 10

3 o o o o Important Yes More important Not needed improvement (park not affected by project) Goal: Maintain Tree Canopy along Hale o Put greenway on the north (or south) sides not on the middle of cars o Highlighted as number 2 o Very important o Trees can be re-planted o Yes o More important Goal: Increase Pedestrian & Bike Connectivity o Move bike/ped path to side, not middle, next to cars preserve middle trees o Or at least retain o Not needed Goal: Manage Future Traffic on Hale (and surrounding streets) o Very important o This needs to be a higher priority o Yes o Separate project? Goal: Other? o Connect neighborhoods across Colfax and Colorado o Preserve signature parkway o Mosquitos in areas where water daylights Question 2 Which approach to Hale Parkway do you feel meets the community goals? Approach Count Percent Notes All Pipe 5 19 % All Greenway 2 7 % Hybrid % 2 comments mentioned All Greenway as an option as well Total No response 1 Question 2a Why? All Pipe Approach: In all cases I prefer traffic to be maintained as it is, with north and south traffic lanes. Also, consider the homes that have driveways that enter/exit on Hale Parkway. And remember Fairfax Page 3 of 10

4 Street does not go through north/south at Hale due to a pedestrian activated crosswalk and closure All greenway and hybrid brings maintenance issues of green space. They do poor job maintaining many parkways. Not aesthetic. Access to side streets walking/driving Parking is a big problem in this area. Hate to see Hale narrowed and eliminate easy parking Do not want greenway which is a ditch. Do not reduce traffic lanes would choose hybrid if we could preserve two lanes in both directions. All Greenway Approach: Most green space, most water quality improvements Handles both flooding and water quality, plus preserves two lanes in both directions. Nice to have that quiet driving sector Because the all pipe option is more expensive and more time consuming I would not choose it Have greenway (homeowner who gets flooded) Improve water quality (that said I am without expertise to make informed decision. Take listed goals and use your expertise to make decision Hybrid Approach: Greater total capacity. Build for the future and focus on retaining traffic lanes that are sufficient. Because the all pipe option is more expensive and more time consuming, I would not choose it Do not change the design now. Cars on both sides. Two lanes each way Preserves a lot of tress Preserve look of parkway Allows more flexibility in design No need for four lanes. Beatify the parkway and improve recreation good compromise Pipes too expensive. All greenway opportunity of too much trash. Hybrid is the best option. Cause it looks beautiful. Less pipe to fix later. Water quality for it can be treated (at least some of it) Improve water quality (that said I am without expertise to make informed decision. Take listed goals and use your expertise to make decision) I like best the hybrid option with traffic on both sides because it seems like it would be closest to what we have now and has the least impact on traffic. i.e., bridges for cross traffic, curb cuts on existing properties Just reduce drive lanes - one on each way Allows for transitions in solutions Looks closest to what we have The greenway deep solution causes other costly problems with traffic The parkway would look green and the water would not be running all the time Best water management and water quality solution Best option Page 4 of 10

5 With greenspace between opposite traffic directions. Preserves some of greenspace. Decreases traffic lanes which may limit speeding. Possibility including bike path. Maybe hybrid due to parkway not being a primary road. Greenway isn t too deep and we have some pipe Preserve character of neighborhood. Opportunity to improve environmental quality of Denver if done well I like the hybrid with the greenway on the north side because I feel it would extend the park. Question 3 Additional Comments I feel greenway on the north side with bike/ped lane on the north of that would be the best for creating public space. Reduce pipe sizes to convey runoff for 5-10 year storm and utilize street flow for major storm events Hybrid all the way. Don t move sanitation or potable water. Keep traffic on both sides and maintain the parkway Can you bring in some frogs? Thank you for taking the time to meet with us If I knew that WQCV that would really be realized with greenway or hybrid, I could choose but since I believe the main intent is to relieve pipe pressure downstream, I am not answering. (there was no selection from this person) Sidewalks like greenway next to park north side. Keep 4 lanes from Clermont to Colorado Boulevard. Sidewalks at cross streets over Hale. Lighting in/along Hale Parkway Both all pipes and/or Hybrid work well Still need parking on street. Downstream needs to carry water volume, no standing water. 3. BREAKOUT SESSIONS Group A (led by Beth Vogelsang, OV Consulting) FLIPCHART COMMENTS: 1 pipe on each street ROW on Hale would work Traffic is a barrier to pedestrian movement and greenway would help Mosquitos? (All greenway) Homeless concerns! (All greenway) Why 100 yr flood control? Why not 250+? Traffic concerns (hybrid) if we reduce traffic lanes 13 th /14 th transportation/speeding are a growing concern Parallel parking on Hale and effect on traffic operations Eudora lighting/sidewalk improvements Stress of driving in the area is high enjoy Hale to today as it not a stressful driving experience Lindsley Park needs to stay in place consider using strip of green adjacent to park in the future Porkchop at Hale should be looked at for traffic operations. Page 5 of 10

6 Sidewalk on north detached from traffic (greenway north side of hale) Why aren t we planning for 250+? Mention of not disturbing trees Do we need to bring in congress park since we are pushing water downstream? Detention at Rosemark, then removed, causing 2015 flooding Mosquitos/Homeless GENERAL QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: Q: Won t all the new development at 9 th and Colorado add to our stormwater problem? A: City regulations require that new development greater than 0.5 acres must reduce storm runoff from the new development down to historic (pre-development) conditions. New developments larger than one acre must provide water quality (per Denver s MS4 permit). Developments between acres must provide water quality when detention is at-grade. Q: If trees on Hale Parkway are young, can they be transplanted? A: Yes, younger trees are better at surviving transplantation. Public Comment: This exercise requires us to look OVER the horizon at the future of the area, and not only at our current situation and our current lives. PIPES ONLY APPROACH: Q: You don t show it, but could you put a large pipe on each side of Hale Parkway (north and south sides)? A: Yes. Q: Is there currently enough pipe downstream to take the stormwater if it was piped through larger pipes under Hale? A: Not currently, no. It will take a long time for us to incrementally build that much capacity downstream. This would be addressed with phasing and implementation plans in the OSP. Comment: If we want to pipe more stormwater into the Congress Park neighborhood, they too would have to get involved in this planning effort. Response: The Congress Park Registered Neighborhood Organization (RNO) has been notified of all meetings and invited the City to present flood protection measures to them. We have had attendance from residents in the northeast corner of Congress Park that is affected by flooding from the Montclair basin. Project team has also posted flyers at homes, community buildings and other areas throughout the neighborhood. Comment: We have always had some flooding at 8 th and Jersey. Since the Rosemark at Mayfair Park was built, the flooding has become worse at this intersection. In 2015 was very bad. Page 6 of 10

7 Response: Rosemark was required to have on-site detention since it was larger than 0.5 acres. It was relocated from the corner of 8 th & Jersey where it was previously and moved to the parking area. The 2015 storm was larger than previous storms for which we have photos and records. Q: Last year, it looked like the City put in very large stormwater pipes along 11 th Ave in Bellevue Hale. What were those? A: (Bruce Uhernik). Those are inch stormwater pipes that were put in to handle localized, persistent flooding at this location. This planning exercise is to discuss the future of the trunk or the body of the stormwater infrastructure in this area. The new 11 th Avenue pipes are an arm or an appendage that will connect to the larger system. GREENWAY ONLY APPROACH: Q: Where would the trees go in a greenway only approach? A: Down the sides of the greenway. Q: Would we attract mosquitoes with standing water? A: We don t build greenways to trap standing water. Best practice is to grade them so that water flows continuously. Hale Parkway has existing natural slope as well. Q: Would you use existing/local soil? A: We would have to amend the soil to make the greenway effective and healthy. Public Comment: Having to search for a bridge to cross the greenway could be seen as a negative. Public Comment: Traffic lanes on both side of the greenway act as a barrier into the north and south sides of the neighborhood. Public Comment: While the greenway gives a sense of space, it might attract homelessness. Staff comment: A greenway helps with neighborhood resiliency by having many fewer inlets that potentially clog up with debris. HYBRID APPROACH: Public Comment: If the greenway is kept relatively shallow, it looks like we could do without bridges and have at-grade crossings, or shallow culverts under the cross-streets, rather than full size bridges. Q: Do the hybrid approaches require only one lane in each direction? A: Not necessarily. But retaining four traffic lanes gives us a lot less room to design as green. Comment: Denver traffic has become much worse, I really like having two travel lanes in each direction on Hale Parkway. It s a welcome break from the traffic patterns in the rest of the City. Note: as part of Page 7 of 10

8 this study, the City will hire a consultant (who is not a developer) to conduct an independent traffic study in the Hale Parkway area. Public Comment: I live in an apartment building. Each apartment comes with one parking spot. The younger generation is supposed to be turning to mass transit. Instead, new residents in the building are complaining that they need two parking spots per apartment. Traffic in this area will get worse. Staff comment: We have met with the City about their completed traffic studies related to Bus Rapid Transit on Colfax, and we will use this data. We will also do a traffic study as part of this project. We will look at expected population growth and vehicular demand, as well as traffic patterns, peaks and shortcut behavior. Public Comment: Any traffic studies need to include 13 th and 14 th Avenues. These are significant eastwest connections where traffic speeds need to be slowed down. The planned traffic study will include those streets. Note: Connectivity to 13 th and 14 th Avenues will be considered in the analysis of Hale. Staff comment: Reducing traffic by one lane in each direction on Hale will slow vehicle speeds. Q: Would the playing field next to Lindsley be affected? A: At this time, no. Public Comment: There is currently so much bumper-to-bumper parking around Lindsley Park you cannot even see the green space. I would like to see this changed. Public Comment: If we take a hybrid approach and put greenway on the north side of Hale we could effectively increase the size of the park. Public Comment: I would like comfortable, clear pedestrian access across Hale Parkway. It is currently unfriendly to pedestrians. The parkway needs better lighting too. Public Comment: Calming the traffic on Hale Parkway would be a good thing. Public Comment: Hale Parkway is part of the character of the neighborhood. It s important to preserve neighborhood character. Group B (led by Chris Parezo, Civitas) FLIPCHART COMMENTS: Development regulations for new development as they relate to Stormwater and detention? GENERAL QUESTIONS/COMMENTS Q: Define green infrastructure. Specifically, will water make its way down to the aquifer? Page 8 of 10

9 A: It will be site specific whether it makes its way down. We would have to do soil testing and other studies, some areas are clay, some are more pervious. There are saturated soils in the layers of soil trapped by clay lenses. This depth varies with wet and dry cycles and by location in Denver. Checking recent storm and sanitary project plans in the area show that saturated soils were encountered at a depth of about 14 feet to 19 feet in Jackson Street between Colfax & 17 th Avenue (2011) and along Hale Parkway (2004). The aquifer under Denver (from which water is drawn) comprised of sands and gravels is several hundred feet down. Q: Is Lindsley Park outside the right-of-way? A: There are 20- feet of greenway/right-of-way before you reach Lindsley Park. Q: If a large pipe is built along Hale Parkway to Colorado Boulevard, where will the water go? A: The pipe would need to match up with the planned storm drain improvements in Jackson Street that is in the Capital Improvement Program. Q: Does the new development on 9th and Colorado have detention requirements that they have to handle? Do they pay more in property taxes to cover it? A: Yes. They are required to have detention and water quality capabilities, and discharge storm runoff at a reduced rate (based on pre-developed conditions) into the existing storm drain in Colorado Blvd. In addition, all property owners in Denver pay a storm drainage fee that is calculated based on the amount of imperviousness of the property. Properties with more imperviousness pay more. Q: It looks like the all greenway option will result in fewer trees/taking out all the trees? A: This is only a conceptual general plan, but trees will be lost. New trees would be planted. Q: What else would have to happen to have pedestrian and bike access? A: The greenway only model would mean that paths and bridges would be down at least 8 feet from the street. The greenway would have to be deeper and narrower in order to accommodate a bike facility at the street level. Q: Will there still be access to go south if you live on the north side of Hale Parkway? A: The cross streets will cross the same as they do now. Page 9 of 10

10 Q: What about the houses with driveways directly on Hale Parkway? A: 3 or 4 houses would have to be looked at more carefully in the concept design phase to ensure continued access. Hospital access on Hale Parkway is also a driving factor. Q: It appears that some of the existing trees could be saved under the hybrid approach is that true? A: Yes, under the hybrid approach, center option especially. Public Comment: It seems that keeping traffic on both sides works best in order to maintain our signature Hale Parkway. The center option of the hybrid model allows us to keep our signature parkway. Q: Will we be basically daylighting/draining Severn water problem into Hale Parkway. It seems like Hale Parkway doesn t have serious flooding are you trying to solve the Severn/Jersey issue? A: The low area at Severn & Jersey is drained by a storm drain that starts in the upper part of the drainage basin and continues down Hale Parkway, then to Jackson Street and through City Park and continues in a northwesterly direction and discharges to the South Platte River. There has been flooding along Hale Parkway and the existing storm drain manholes blew off at both ends of the Parkway at 12 th & Albion and at 8 th & Hale Parkway in the storm. Severn & Jersey has flooded more often because the area is like a bowl that can only be drained with a pipe and the existing pipe needs to be much bigger. The flooding must get very deep before the bowl fills up and overflows at 8 th Avenue like it did in Any solution or approach to Hale Parkway will include interventions to help Severn & Jersey Public Comment: What I m hearing from neighbors is that they want to keep the essence of Hale Parkway; increase connectivity bikes and trails: and improve recreation amenities. My view is that the center-hybrid approach would improve the area and also help Severn and Jersey, so that s my vote. Page 10 of 10